The Rev. Jesse Jackson and other members of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition arrived in town Wednesday night to meet with local fishers, ministers and other coastal residents who say they have not been able to get work in the cleanup with BP.

On Thursday they had a meeting with BP officials to work through some of the contracting issues for residents in Plaquemines Parish who had been unable to get work with BP. The group also did a flyover of the Gulf oil spill area and held a rally in Rushville, near Jesuit Bend.

"People on the ground should be the first in line for recovery," Jackson said. "They should not be looking at other people from out of state who buy a couple of boats, and have the muscle to get to the front of the line."

Jackson said earlier this week that he was concerned that many fishers and other seafood workers risked getting lowballed for their claims because of documentation troubles, since much of the seafood and fishing industry is a cash business. He also pointed out that using the years after Hurricane Katrina as a baseline for estimating income could be troublesome, since many fishers were sidelined due to boat damage and other problems.

"Those are some of the same people who have had to borrow money coming out of Katrina, who are still in debt," Jackson said. "Now they're facing the possibility of having their claims not honored, or lowballed."

Plaquemines Parish Councilman Burghart Turner, who toured with Jackson yesterday, said the meetings with BP were fruitful and he believes there is a more direct line of communication with the company.

"They have definitely shown some progress, and definitely Rev. Jackson's involvement elevated things to a higher level and BP responded," Turner said. "I think we have a way to move forward with BP together, and not be excluded from the process."